SAS troops with sniper rifles and heavy machine guns have killed hundreds of Islamic State extremists in a series of deadly quad-bike ambushes inside Iraq.
Defence sources indicated last night that soldiers from the elite fighting unit have eliminated โup to eight terrorists per dayโ in the daring raids, carried out during the past four weeks.
Until now, it had been acknowledged only that the SAS was operating in a reconnaissance role in Iraq and was not involved in combat.
Targets are identified by drones operated either from an SAS base or by the soldiers themselves on the ground, who use smaller devices.
The troops are also equipped with quad bikes โ four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles that can have machine guns bolted on to a frame. They then seek out IS units and attack the terrorists using the element of surprise and under the cover of darkness.
The missions have taken place on a near daily basis in the past four weeks and the SAS soldiers have expended so much ammunition that regimental quartermasters have been forced to order a full replenishment of stocks of machine-gun rounds and sniper bullets.
An SAS source said:
โOur tactics are putting the fear of God into IS as they donโt know where weโre going to strike next and thereโs frankly nothing they can do to stop us.
Weโre degrading their morale. They can run and hide if they see planes in the sky but they canโt see or hear us. Using so many snipers takes the fear factor to another level too; the terrorists donโt know whatโs happening. They just see their colleagues lying dead in the sand.โ
The SASโs guerrilla-style raids are targeting ISโs main supply routes across western Iraq and vehicle checkpoints set up by the terrorists to conduct kidnappings and extort money from local drivers.
Source:Uk Daily Mail
